posted by Nicole Mastrogiannis
-
2 years ago

John Digweed has been DJing since the age of 15, and got his big break around 1993 after the legendary Sasha heard his demo. Fast-forward about 20 years and John has become quite the legend himself.

Head of his own label Bedrock Records, constantly traveling to the best clubs all over the world, he is known to play some shockingly long sets. But there is another big entity that is a part of John's career: His radio show "Transitions." Going on 10 years, his legendary "Transitions" radio show has reached its 500th episode, and he is celebrating with a live broadcast for the first time during this year's Miami Music Week on his annual Sunset Cruise.

John tells Evolution Radio, "I think it's a milestone. If you'd have asked me 10 years ago, if we were running that long, I didn't have any idea. But it shows that the show is still growing." He continues, "Each month there's a new station added from around the world. I think we're [in] over 60 countries now. We just wanted to, sort of, highlight the 500th show with something really special. And it's incredible that the day exactly on the 500th show is the day we started 10 years ago."

On the Sunset Cruise, John will be joined by Jozif, Denis A, and Guy J. John explains that this will be the first time his radio show will be a live-broadcast. He says, "We've never done a live show broadcast before, but that also adds a little bit [of] extra butterflies and nerves ... pre-match nerves, before the game. I think it'll be nice. And it's also nice for those listeners around the world, that they can experience it as it happens, 5 hours - which is 3 more than we normally broadcast."

Fans can also tune in to a special highlights show of his 500th episode on Evolution Radio Thursday, March 27th at midnight.

John has had a lot of memories over the last decade with "Transitions." He tells us, "It's been nice to have legendary DJs like Deep Dish to ... I mean, we've pretty much had everyone I ever wanted to feature on the show, as well as new and up-and-coming guys. The next thing about that is when you give someone a break [who's] probably not as well known, they come back and say, 'ah, since that mix, I've had a promoter ring me up and this promoter wants to book me,' stuff like that. I think the show can also help up-and-coming DJs get more awareness. So I think that's a two-way thing. People get a balance between well-known DJs, and the sort of really well-known, to completely unknown, but soon-to-be-known."

John's busy schedule during Miami Music Week is enough to make you wonder how he makes each set stand out from one another. John tells Evolution Radio, "The boat party is more of a fun, full-party set. The Bedrock night is a showcase with all the other artists on the label. So, that one's been prepped for a while. But from a DJing point of view, I know what I'm going into. And I've got a full party with Pacha Ibiza on the Saturday afternoon. Then, Vagabond Sunday night, Saturday night, which is my extended set, so that's 5, 6 hours a day.

He continues, "Each set is different. So, I think that's what keeps it exciting. If I was going out and playing similar sets for every place, I wouldn't be doing as many shows. But, because I know each gig is going to a be a different vibe, a different sound or a different thing, that allows me to think each one is going to push me in this direction or that direction."

John is known to be behind the DJ booth for extended sets. He tells us that the longest set he's ever played is 13.5 hours in Mykonos, Greece! But aside from his incredible Mykonos set, he says 10/11/12 hour sets were a regular thing for him.

He explains, "[At] Twilo in New York, we used to do 10, 11, 12-hour sets there, on a monthly basis ... If I'm enjoying myself, and I can play longer, then I will. If I've flown halfway around the world, I want to show what I can do."

If that doesn't paint a picture of how passionate John Digweed is about his work, he says of DJing, "For me, DJing is still my main passion, just because each night is different. Each night pushes you in one direction or another, but that's what I love about that. Each crowd's going to be different, but it makes you think, and push yourself in a different way at each gig."

Fans can tune in to John Digweed's "Transitions" every Thursday at midnight (ET) on Evolution Radio.